Murrow Grad. AU Alumnus. Multimedia Pro.

The GOP Debates and Candidates are in Need of a Fix

Hellos all, it is I, Threeeee…..wait, never mind. That universe won’t get another visit from me until November 10th. In the meantime, I have a few words to say on the ever more absurd circus that is the Republican race to win the party’s nomination to run against Hillary in the 2016 battle.

Recently, representatives of the various GOP campaigns got together after a controversial CNBC debate in order to set up a few ground rules that would need to be in place to ensure their presence at future events. Though some of their demands were silly, a few were quite sound.

Below is an initial list of what the campaigns want the networks to do at future gatherings.

o Ask the candidates to raise their hands to answer a question

o Ask yes/no questions without time to provide a substantive answer

o Have a “lightning round”

o Allow candidate-to-candidate questioning

o Allow props or pledges by the candidates

o Have reaction shots of members of the audience or moderators during debates

o Show an empty podium after a break (describe how far away the bathrooms are)

o Use behind shots of the candidates showing their notes

o Leave microphones on during breaks

o Allow members of the audience to wear political messages (shirts, buttons, signs, etc.). Who enforces?

Apart from other basics like equal speaking time and control of on-screen graphics, the various old and largely white politicians have also asked for friendlier moderators. Ben Carson has bemoaned so-called “Gotcha” questions and Ted Cruz has mused on future debated being moderated by conservative commentators like Sean Hannity or even perhaps Mark Levin.

That is probably not going to happen. And I’ve got a message for any politician, be they conservative, liberal or anything else on the political spectrum who bemoans tricky queries.

Grow Up.

You’re running for the most stressful job in the world outside of being the Prime Minister of Iraq or the President of Afghanistan. If you can’t answer any question asked of you in a thoughtful or nuanced manner, maybe you’re not fit to be in the Oval Office and be in charge of our nukes.

Ben Carson, you’re a neurosurgeon. The fact that you would associate with a shady dietary supplement company that dubiously claimed its product could help treat autism is atrocious. That is a legitimate relationship to ask you about and yes, it seriously shows your credibility is dented.

Ted Cruz, it is legitimate for a reporter to ask you about your view that the gold standard should be brought back. Most economists think that’s utterly insane, so you deserve to be challenged on it. Your limited experience and its similarity to President Obama before he ran should be up too.

Bottom line is this everyone, when John Kasich (The Lone Island of Reason in this Clown Show.) said that we are perhaps “on the verge of picking someone who cannot do the job”, he was disturbingly right. If you’re not tough enough to withstand any question asked to you, you’re not tough enough to deal with Daesh, Economic Malaise and the rest of America’s problems.